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‘Gay’ penguins Buddy and Pedro turn attention to the ladies

Buddy&rsquo;s pairing with Farai seems to have clicked, and Pedro has turned into a girl-chaser.

Penguins take a dip at the Toronto Zoo, where fast friends Buddy and Pedro have, in being separated from each other, taken a new interest in the females of the species. (Colin McConnell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

By Donovan VincentStaff Reporter

Tues., Dec. 13, 2011

Buddy and Pedro fighting each other?

We know a lot of passionate relationships can end badly — but this fast? Guys, say it ain't so!

The loveable same-sex pair of endangered African penguins at the Toronto Zoo, the ones with the international profile and the high-octane genes, have been separated from each other by their handlers and paired up with females as part of a species survival program.

Buddy, 21, was paired with Farai, 3, on Nov. 19 and breeding activity was observed, the zoo said Monday. Pedro, 10, was introduced to females on Dec. 1 and has been seen “constantly” courting them, including Thandiwey, the one the zoo wants him to mate with. But no solid bonding has yet happened.

Easy come, easy go, apparently.

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Scientists say that when a female shows up, that often spells the end for same-sex male bonds in penguins and other animals. And vice versa for same-sex female pairings. (However, that theory doesn't explain why Buddy and Pedro stuck together so closely and for so long in the mixed flock of 12 African penguins at the zoo.)

Buddy and Pedro and their mates, along with Puff, 17, and Gozi, 3, a third couple in the breeding program, have been placed in the zoo's penguin house. The couples each have a nest spot consisting of a box lined with gravel and sterile, flexible tubing that can be used as twigs.

But fans worldwide who have been riveted by Buddy and Pedro's story will be saddened to hear the two recently got into a fight as they sat across from one another in their respective nests. It was mostly loud bawling, but there could have been serious injuries if not for a mesh between the nests.

“It's a common male trait. They set territory around a nest,'' Tom Mason, curator of birds and invertebrates at the zoo, told reporters at a Monday news conference held to provide an update on Buddy and Pedro and the mating program.

For African penguins, laying eggs can take anywhere from a few days to one month after the female has ovulated. The zoo hopes to see some eggs between now and next March, with chicks arriving as early as the end of January.

Typically, one egg is laid, with male and females sharing joint responsibility for incubation. Zookeepers will step in and assist with feeding the chicks three to seven weeks after hatching.

The Toronto Zoo is one of 40 participating in a multi-year breeding program for the endangered species native to South Africa.

Buddy and Pedro's bromance has made them social darlings and worldwide newsmakers since their relationship was first reported in the Star last month.

Up to now, Buddy and Pedro had shown little amorous interest in the young females in the flock, preferring to huddle for hours on end beside a wooden post in their enclosure.

According to Twitter feeds purportedly written by the flightless buddies, the duo recently ditched the girls for a night on the town. Wrote “Buddy”: “Hope the girls aren't too worried. Never told them about the zoobreak. It was for their own safety.” “Pedro” lamented their separation with a tweet: “We're common-law. Trouble is we're in these separate cells now. It's not the document we need, just more together time.”

The tuxedo-clad birds are not the only animals to occasionally exhibit same-sex bonds — giraffes, dolphins and some monkeys have been observed doing the same. Other same-sex penguin couples have also been documented at the Central Park Zoo and in Germany.

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